Solid-state imaging apparatus that selects among different analog signals

ABSTRACT

A solid-state imaging apparatus is provided which includes a plurality of pixels ( 101 ) arranged in a matrix for generating a signal by a photoelectric conversion, a plurality of column amplifier units ( 102 ) arranged each correspondingly to each of columns of the plurality of pixels, for outputting a first signal generated by amplifying at a first gain the signals from the plurality of pixels, and a second signal generated by amplifying at a second gain the signals from the plurality of pixels, and an analog to digital converting unit ( 108 ) for selecting one signal from the first and second signals for analog to digital conversion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

Solid-state imaging apparatuses are required to have an improved S/Nratio and an increased dynamic range. In order to meet suchrequirements, an amplifier circuit and a detection circuit, whichdetects the signal level of each pixel signal, in each of columns ofpixels arranged in a matrix are provided for each column in PTL 1. Withthis configuration, signal saturation in each column amplifier circuitis avoided, the gains of pixel signals are controlled such thatsmall-amplitude ones do not cause saturation, and the gains are returnedto the original values in a downstream circuit.

In PTL 2, a column amplifier circuit for each of columns generates alow-gain signal and a high-gain signal from each pixel signal from animaging device. Signals obtained by returning high-gain signals to thesame gain as the gain of low-gain signals and the low-gain signals areselectively combined to increase a dynamic range while maintaining anS/N ratio.

However, in the technique disclosed in PTL 1, a detection circuit fordetecting a pixel signal is provided for each of columns of pixels, andthe columns have different gains. A circuit for controlling theconfiguration is more complicated, and a solid-state imaging apparatusoccupies a larger area. In addition, the pixels may have different S/Nratios.

In the technique disclosed in PTL 2, signals with different gainsgenerated from each of a plurality of image signals are both subjectedto AD conversion. This leads to an increase in the number of datatransfer lines for AD-converted signals and a cost increase. If datatransfer for one of the different gains and data transfer for the othergain are alternately and successively performed, transfer time doubles,and photographic speed decreases.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PIL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-015701-   PIL 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-16416

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A solid-state imaging apparatus according to one aspect of the presentinvention comprises: a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix forgenerating a signal by a photoelectric conversion; a plurality of columnamplifier units arranged each correspondingly to each of columns of theplurality of pixels, for outputting first signals generated byamplifying at a first gain the signals from the plurality of pixels, andsecond signals generated by amplifying at a second gain the signals fromthe plurality of pixels; and an analog to digital converting unit forselectively converting one signal from the first and second signals fromanalog to a digital signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a signal level chart for describing an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the whole of a solid-state imagingapparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a bitprocessing unit according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating switching between sets of bits ofAD-converted signals with different gains.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of two column amplifier unitsaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic timing chart according to the embodiment in FIG.6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit diagram of one column amplifier unitaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic timing chart according to the embodiment in FIG.8.

FIG. 10 is a chart for describing the imaging timing for the solid-stateimaging apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of areference signal input circuit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of areference signal input circuit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a chart for describing the imaging timing for a solid-stateimaging apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a bitprocessing unit according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a signal level chart for describing a gain error.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Possible problems with the methods disclosed in PTLs 1 and 2 will bedescribed in more detail in order to clarify features of a firstembodiment of the present invention. Consider signal-level errors andanalog to digital (AD) conversion errors when designs with two differentgains (e.g., a design G1 with a gain of 1 and a design G8 with a gain of8) are prepared.

FIG. 18 illustrates a signal level chart for describing a gain error. InFIG. 18, the abscissa represents the quantity of reflected light from anobject while the ordinate represents a pixel signal level at the lightquantity. A design G8# is obtained by returning the design G8 to thesame gain as the gain of the design G1. Since there is an error causedby a semiconductor process between the gains of column amplifiercircuits, if a small-signal part (a small-light-quantity part) of a lineindicated by G1 is replaced with a line indicated by G8# in a downstreamcircuit, as illustrated in FIG. 18, a signal level differencecorresponding to a light quantity from the signal level of the design G1occurs. If a determination when the small-signal part of the lineindicated by G1 is replaced with the line indicated by G8# is made basedon a neighborhood VH(a) of a full saturation signal level for a signalof the design G8, signal saturation or signal nonlinearity of a pixelsignal in each column amplifier unit is also an error factor.

A gain error will be expressed by a simple expression. Let a and b begain errors in the designs G1 and G8 and α be a conversion error in anAD converting unit. Assuming that the gain errors and the conversionerror are several percent, data DA(G1) and data DA(G8) which areobtained by AD-converting the gains G1 and G8 are given asapproximations by Expressions (1) and (2) below.DA(G1)=(1+a)(1+α)≈1+a+α  (1)DA(G8)=(8+b)(1+α)≈8(1+α)+b  (2)

An expression for returning the data DA(G8) to the original gain of 1 isgiven below as Expression (3), and a difference ΔV between Expression(3) and Expression (1) is given by Expression (4) below.DA(G8/8)=DA(G8)×⅛=1+α+b/8  (3)ΔV=DA(G8/8)−DA(G1)=b/8−a  (4)

Even if the difference ΔV in Expression (4) is several percent, thedifference ΔV is visually recognized as a difference in level in animage after the image is composed. Since human eyes are sensitive tosuch a difference in level, degradation of the quality of the image isclearly recognized.

The principle of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is asignal level chart for describing the present embodiment. A fullsaturation signal level VH(a) is the signal level of a second signal G8at a light quantity a where the second signal G8 is fully saturated.Signals with two different gains are used to improve the S/N ratio of apixel signal and increase a dynamic range. The present invention isdirected to detect a gain error due to different signal processes by acolumn amplifier unit, an AD converting unit, and the like and correctthe error or performing offset correction using a signal leveldifference as an offset voltage. In FIG. 1, a first signal G1(hereinafter referred to as a signal G1) is a signal with a gain of 1,and the second signal G8 (hereinafter referred to as a signal G8) is asignal with a gain of 8. A signal G8# is a signal obtained bylevel-shifting the gain of the signal G8 after signal processing to thegain of the signal G1. The signal G8# and the signal G1 have differentslopes. The difference between the slopes corresponds to a gain error.Gain error detection according to the present embodiment is performedbased on a signal level at a light quantity b with good signallinearity. A first signal level VH(b) is the signal level of the secondsignal G8 at the light quantity b less than a light quantity where thesecond signal G8 starts to be saturated and is a signal level less thana saturation start signal level. A signal level VL(b) is the signallevel of the first signal G1 at the light quantity b. A signal levelVH(b)# is the signal level of the signal G8# at the light quantity b.Since a gain error is (VH(b)#/VL(b)), a correction coefficient K isrepresented by Expression (5) below that is the reciprocal of a gainerror.K=VL(b)/VH(b)#  (5)

Since a signal level difference is VH(b)#−VL(b), a correction valueVoffset for an offset voltage is represented by the expression below.Voffset=−(VH(b)#−VL(b))  (6)

The signal G8# can be converted into a signal G8## at the same signallevel as the signal level of the signal G1 by multiplying the signal G8#by a correction coefficient K. Alternatively, a difference in levelbetween signals can be reduced by performing offset correction on asignal level not less than V1(b) of the signal G1 using an offsetvoltage correction value represented by Expression (6). By returning thesignal G8 to the gain of the signal G1 with the signal processing, noisein a small-amplitude signal caused by a signal processing circuit can bereduced to 1/G8. Gain error detection is performed not when a signallevel is not a saturation signal level but when the signal level is asignal level with good linearity, and a correction coefficient iscalculated. Accordingly, a signal level difference at the time of signalcombination, i.e., a seam in an image can be reduced.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the whole of a solid-state imagingapparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.The solid-state imaging apparatus includes a solid-state imaging device1 which outputs in parallel different gain signals of a photographedimage, a signal processing unit 2 which processes a signal from thesolid-state imaging device 1, and a recording unit (medium) 3 on whichan image signal from the signal processing unit 2 is recorded. Thesolid-state imaging apparatus also includes a displaying unit 4 whichdisplays an image signal from the signal processing unit 2, an imagesignal from the recording unit 3, and the like and a CPU 5 whichcontrols the above-described constituent units. The signal processingunit 2 includes an analog to digital converting unit (AD convertingunit) 21 which converts a first signal G1 and a second signal G8 withdifferent gains from the solid-state imaging device 1 from analog todigital form and a bit processing unit 22 which forms combined signalsfrom signals output from the AD converting unit 21. The signalprocessing unit 2 further includes a DSP 23 which performs camera signalprocessing on a signal from the bit processing unit 22 and a timinggenerator (TG) 24 which generates signal processing timing pulses forthe AD converting unit 21, the bit processing unit 22, and the DSP 23.The AD converting unit 21 converts the first signal G1 and second signalG8 from analog to digital form with different AD converting units.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of the bitprocessing unit 22 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. An output signal DATA1 from the AD converting unit 21, whichconverts an analog signal from the solid-state imaging device 1 into adigital signal, is a signal obtained by 12-bit AD-converting a firstsignal G1 with a low gain, and an output signal DATA2 is a signalobtained by 12-bit AD-converting a second signal G8 with a high gain. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1, a bit shifting unit 221 performsgain conversion for replacing the first signal DATA1 (G1) with thesecond signal DATA2 (G8) at a light quantity not more than b. Since again ratio between two signals in each column amplifier unit of thesolid-state imaging device 1 is (G1/G8=⅛), the bit shifting unit 221outputs a third signal G8# which is obtained by level-shifting thesecond signal DATA2 (G8) to the same gain level as the gain level of thefirst signal DATA1 (G1). More specifically, the bit shifting unit 221multiplies the second signal DATA2 (G8) by a factor of ⅛ by digitallylevel-shifting the signal DATA2 (G8) by 3 bits and outputs the signalG8#. Although the gain of a high-gain signal is set at 8 in the presentembodiment, the high gain may be changed according to the photographicsituation. For example, in the case of photographing using a relativelypoorly lit object and requiring a gain as high as 16 as an imagingsensitivity, since a gain ratio is 16, 4-bit level shifting isperformed.

A comparison level determining unit 222 determines whether the signalDATA2 (G8) is not more than the first signal level VH(b) at the lightquantity b and outputs a signal indicating the light quantity b to acomparing unit 224. The comparing unit 224 receives the signal from thecomparison level determining unit 222, compares the output signal G8#from the bit shifting unit 221 with the signal DATA1 (G1) at the lightquantity b, and outputs a difference ΔV between the signal DATA1 (G1)and the signal G8#. As illustrated in FIG. 1, at the light quantity b,the signal G8 is unsaturated, and signal linearity is good. Accordingly,the comparing unit 224 can detect the gain error ΔV with high accuracyby detecting the gain error ΔV at the light quantity b. The gain errorΔV is represented by “b/8−a” as in Expression (4). The gain error ΔVvaries depending on a column amplifier unit (to be described later) andwhether a single AD converting unit is provided or separate ADconverting units are provided but is basically largely affected by again error a for a low gain. A gain error here is caused by a differencefrom a design value for a gain (a target gain) of a column amplifier,variation between designed circuit devices in a semiconductor process,and the like.

The gain error ΔV detected by the comparator 224 is (VH(b)#/VL(b)), asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1. The reciprocal of the gain error ΔVis stored as a gain error correction coefficient K or an offset voltagecorrection value is stored in a correction data memory unit 225. Acorrecting unit 226 outputs a signal DATA21 (G8##) with a gain errorcorrected by multiplying the third signal G8# output from the bitshifting unit 221 by the correction coefficient K in the correction datamemory unit 225 or a signal level difference corrected by adding orsubtracting the offset voltage correction value. The correcting unit 226corrects the third signal G8# based on the correction coefficient K.Note that the correcting unit 226 may correct one of the first signalDATA1 (G1) and the second signal DATA2 (G8) based on the correctioncoefficient K or the offset voltage correction value.

A switching flag unit 223 outputs a selection signal φb at high level toa bit switching unit 227 when the second signal DATA2 (G8) has a signallevel not more than the first signal level VH(b) at the light quantityb. The switching flag unit 223 outputs the selection signal φb at lowlevel to the bit switching unit 227 when the second signal DATA2 (G8) ismore than the first signal level VH(b) at the light quantity b.Alternatively, the switching flag unit 223 outputs the selection signalφb at high level to the bit switching unit 227 when the first signalDATA1 (G1) is not more than the signal level VL(b) at the light quantityb and outputs the selection signal φb at low level in the other cases.The bit switching unit 227 selects and outputs the signal DATA1 (G1)upon receipt of the selection signal φb at low level from the flag unit223 and selects and outputs the signal DATA21 (G8##) upon receipt of theselection signal φb at high level from the flag unit 223.

The above signal switching means the following. In the case ofphotographing with a low photographic sensitivity (a low ISO speed and alow gain), meaning photographing in bright conditions, a signal G1 isobtained at a high light quantity (not less than the light quantity a).If the light quantity is more than the light quantity b, a signal DATA1(G1) with a high S/N ratio is output without signal switching. With thisoperation, a signal within a wide dynamic range is obtained. In the caseof photographing with a high photographic sensitivity (a high ISO speedand a high gain), meaning photographing in dark conditions, a signalDATA21 (G8##) with a high S/N ratio obtained by correcting a high-gainsignal G8 is output at a light quantity not more than the light quantityb. This configuration enables prevention of the signal G8 from beingadversely affected as a signal in the saturation region or in a regionwith non-linearity in the column amplifier unit at a light quantity notless than the light quantity b and not more than the light quantity a.

An allowable correction data range for correction data for differentgains was investigated by an experiment. A result of the investigationshowed that, at the light quantity b, a difference in level in an imagestarted to become noticeable from a difference of only about 1% when thesignal level VH(b) of a signal G8## was larger than the signal levelVL(b) of a signal G1. When the signal level VH(b) of the signal G8## wassmaller, a difference in level in an image started to become noticeablefrom a difference of about several percent. This seems to be because thesense of sight of a person is characteristically tolerant to a changefor the brighter, i.e., a phenomenon in which an image gradually becomesbrighter at a seam in the image and is intolerant to a change for thedarker. Accordingly, correcting the above-described correctioncoefficient K by multiplying the above-described correction coefficientK by, e.g., 99% is more effective. Even if offset correction isperformed instead of correction using a correction efficient K, such adifference in level can also be made unnoticeable. Since correctionusing an offset voltage correction value is addition/subtractionprocessing and has the advantage of making a correction process easier.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the bitswitching unit 227. A case has been described with reference to FIG. 3where the bit shifting unit 221 shifts a signal DATA2 by 3 bits(multiplies the signal DATA2 by a factor of ⅛). In FIG. 4, a signalDATA21 will be described as a signal which has been level-shifted by 3bits with respect to a signal DATA1 and is input to the bit switchingunit 227. The signals DATA1 and DATA21 are each assumed to have aresolution of 12 bits. Output terminals Da0 to Da11 and Db0 to Db11 areoutput terminals for bits of the data DATA1 and output terminals forbits of the data DATA21, respectively. Output terminals Dc0 to Dc14 areoutput terminals for bits of an output signal DATA3 from the bitswitching unit 227. The terminals Da8 to Da11 are connected to theoutput terminals Dc11 to Dc14. The selection signal φb is a signaloutput by the switching flag unit 223. When the selection signal φb isat low level, switches connect a node CNST with fixed data (e.g., 0) andthe terminals Da0 to Da8 to the output terminals Dc0 to Dc11. On theother hand, when the selection signal φb is at high level, the switchesconnect the terminals Db0 to Db11 to the output terminals Dc0 to Dc11.Switching between the two input signals DATA1 and DATA21 is controlledaccording to the selection signal φb from the switching flag unit 223.Since a gain ratio of the signal DATA21 to the signal DATA1 is 8, thesignal DATA1 is multiplied by a factor of 8 by 3-bit shifting. Asdescribed above, the 15-bit wide-dynamic-range signal DATA3 can beacquired from the two 12-bit image signals DATA1 and DATA21. Bydetecting a gain error between different gains with high accuracy andperforming gain correction, even if two images are combined into one, adifference in level in the image can be made hard to visually recognize.

FIG. 5 illustrates the schematic configuration of the solid-stateimaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. The solid-state imaging device 1 includes a pixel unit 10 inwhich a plurality of pixels 101 is arranged in a matrix, a columnamplifier unit 102, a memory unit 103, and an outputting unit 104. Eachpixel 101 includes a photoelectric conversion element (photodiode) whichgenerates a signal (electric charge) by a photoelectric conversion andmay further include a pixel outputting unit which converts the electriccharge generated in the photoelectric conversion element into a voltagesignal and outputs the voltage signal and a pixel selecting unit forselecting the pixel 101. Although only four pixels 101 are illustratedfor the sake of simplicity, there are pixels 101 with m rows and ncolumns in the pixel unit 10. Each column amplifier unit 102 is providedeach correspondingly to each of the columns of the pixels 101. Thecolumn amplifier units 102 output first signals G1 generated byamplifying signals from the plurality of pixels 101 at a first gain(e.g., a gain of 1) and second signals G8 generated by amplifying thesignals at a second gain (e.g., a gain of 8 larger than the second gain.In the present embodiment, each column amplifier unit 102 includes twoamplifier units with different gains for each column. The gain of eachamplifier unit is variable. The memory unit 103 temporarily storessignals with different gains from the corresponding column amplifierunit 102. The outputting unit 104 includes, for example, an outputamplifier 1042 and outputs a signal to the outside of the solid-stateimaging device 1 via the output amplifier 1042. The pixels 101 providedin the same column are connected to the corresponding column amplifierunit 102 via a same vertical signal line VL. The vertical signal line VLis provided for each column of the plurality of pixels 101 to connectthe plurality of pixels 101 and the corresponding column amplifier unit102. The spirit of the present embodiment does not change even if thereis a plurality of vertical signal lines VL for each column. When thepixels 101 are selected by a vertical scanning circuit 105, each pixel101 outputs a signal to the corresponding vertical signal line VL, andthe signal is amplified by the corresponding column amplifier unit 102.The amplified signals are held in the corresponding memory unit 103.When switches connecting the memory unit 103 and horizontal signal linesHL are controlled to be turned on by a horizontal scanning circuit 1041,the signals amplified by the column amplifier unit 102 are output to theoutside of the solid-state imaging device 1 via the output amplifiers1042. A timing generator 106 is configured to supply signals to thevertical scanning circuit 105 and the horizontal scanning circuit 1041.The timing generator 106 may supply signals for controlling the columnamplifier units 102 and the memory units 103. Note that the timinggenerator 106 may be provided outside the solid-state imaging device 1.

For the solid-state imaging device 1 illustrated in FIG. 5, therelationship of signal levels output from the solid-state imaging device1 which are signal levels when the gains of each column amplifier unit102 are 1 and 8 to the quantity of light incident on each pixel 101 hasbeen described with reference to FIG. 1. A description of therelationship will be omitted. When each column amplifier unit 102 has alow gain, noise from the corresponding output amplifier 1042 is largerthan noise from each pixel 101. In order to reduce output noise, ahigh-gain signal is generated. After AD conversion, the high-gain signalis returned to the original signal level to improve the S/N ratio.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of two column amplifierunits 102-1 and 102-2 in each column amplifier unit 102 according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates oneextracted pixel in a certain column of pixels, and the two columnamplifier units 102-1 and 102-2 are provided for each vertical signalline VL. Assume that input capacitors C0 of the column amplifier units102-1 and 102-2 have the same capacitance value. The column amplifierunits 102-1 and 102-2 are different in the magnitudes of thecapacitances of feedback capacitors provided in a feedback path betweenan inverting input terminal and an output terminal of an operationalamplifier Amp. Feedback capacitors C1 and C2 are connected to the columnamplifier unit 102-1, and feedback capacitors C3 and C4 are connected tothe column amplifier unit 102-2. The capacitance values of the feedbackcapacitors C1, C2, C3, and C4 are assumed to be 1 times, ½ times, ⅛times, and 1/16 times, respectively, the capacitance value of the inputcapacitors C0. That is, in the present embodiment, the column amplifierunit 102 for each column includes the two column amplifier units 102-1and 102-2 whose gains can be set to be different from each other. Eachcolumn amplifier unit 102 amplifies and outputs a first signal G1 and asecond signal S8 with the different column amplifier units 102-1 and102-2. Column amplifier units which can be set to have gains equal toeach other may be used as long as the column amplifier units can be setto have gains different from each other. Holding capacitors CTS1 andCTS2 are controlled by a signal φCTS while holding capacitors CTN1 andCTN2 are controlled by a signal φCTN.

Operation according to the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a timing chart illustrating when signalsare acquired from the solid-state imaging device, for one in a certainrow of pixels arranged in a matrix. Assume here a case where the gain ofthe column amplifier unit 102-1 is 1 and the gain of the columnamplifier unit 102-2 is 8.

First, at time t0, all signals except for signals φTX and φHn shift tohigh level. When a signal φSEL changes to high level, a pixel selectingunit SEL is brought into conduction. A source terminal of a pixeloutputting unit SF and a constant current source Iconst are electricallyconnected to form a source follower circuit. The formation causes alevel corresponding to the potential of a gate terminal of the pixeloutputting unit SF to appear as a signal on the vertical signal line VL.Since a signal φRES is at high level at this time, a resetting unit RESis brought into conduction, and a level corresponding to a state inwhich the gate terminal of the pixel outputting unit SF is reset appearsas a signal on the vertical signal line VL. In addition, signals φC,φC1, φC2, φC3, and φC4 change to high level, which causes the invertinginput terminal and output terminal of each operational amplifier Amp tobe short-circuited and the feedback capacitors C1, C2, C3, and C4 to bereset. Because of a virtual ground phenomenon in each operationalamplifier Amp, the potentials of the terminals of the feedbackcapacitors C1 and C3 can be regarded as the same potential as a powersupply potential Vref. Since the signals φCTN and φCTS are at highlevel, the holding capacitors CTN1, CTS1, CTN2, and CTS2 are reset byoutputs from the operational amplifiers Amp.

At time t1, the signal φRES shifts to low level. The resetting unit RESis brought out of conduction, and the gate terminal of the pixeloutputting unit SF is released from the reset state. A noise componentcaused by the release from the reset state contributes to a pixel noisen.

At time t2, the signals φC1, φC2, φC3, φC4, φCTN, and φCTS shift to lowlevel, and switches corresponding to the signals are brought out ofconduction.

A shift of the signal φC to low level at time t3 releases eachoperational amplifier from the short-circuited state between the inputand output terminals. A level corresponding to the resetting of the gateterminal of the pixel outputting unit SF is clamped by the power supplypotential Vref at each input capacitor C0.

The signals φC1 and φCTN change to high level at time t4, and the signalφCTN changes to low level at time t5. The shifts cause an output fromthe column amplifier unit 102-1 at the time to be held in the holdingcapacitance CTN1 and an output from the column amplifier unit 102-2 atthe time to be held in the holding capacitance CTN2. The signals held bythe holding capacitances CTN1 and CTN2 include an offset componentoriginating in the corresponding column amplifier unit 102.

When the signal φTX shifts to high level at time t6, electric chargesaccumulated in a photodiode PD are transferred to the gate terminal ofthe pixel outputting unit SF. Since the potential at the gate terminalof the pixel outputting unit SF changes, a level appearing on thevertical signal line VL also changes. At the time, each input capacitorC0 is in a floating state, and only a difference from the level on thevertical signal line VL clamped at time t1 is input to the invertinginput terminal of the corresponding operational amplifier Amp. That is,a noise component generated upstream of the clamp capacitor can bereduced by a clamp operation, and a signal based on a photoelectricconversion is input to the operational amplifiers Amp.

The signal φCTS remains at high level in a pulse shape from time t7.When the signal φCTS changes to low level, the switches are turned off,and a signal output from the column amplifier unit 102-1 and a signaloutput from the column amplifier unit 102-2 are held in the holdingcapacitances CTS1 and CTS2, respectively. The signals held by theholding capacitances CTS1 and CTS2 include an offset componentoriginating in the corresponding column amplifier unit 102, as in theholding capacitances CTN1 and CTN2.

After the signals φC1 and φC3 shift to low level, the signal φSELchanges to low level at time t8. The shift brings the pixel selectingunit SEL out of conduction and releases the pixel 101 from a selectedstate.

The signals φHn change to high level successively from time t9, andsignals are output from the pixels 101 in one row via differentialamplifiers D. Amp1 and D. Amp2. The differential amplifier D. Amp1subtracts an offset signal at the holding capacitor CTN1 from the pixelsignal at the holding capacitance CTS1 to output a pixel signal S1 afterthe removal of an offset. The differential amplifier D. Amp2 subtractsan offset signal at the holding capacitor CTN2 from the pixel signal atthe holding capacitance CTS2 to output a pixel signal S2 after thereduction by an offset. Since the signals held by the holding capacitorsCTS1, CTS2, CTN1, and CTN2 include an offset originating in the columnamplifier unit 102, an offset component can be reduced by obtaining adifference by the differential amplifiers D. Amp1 and D. Amp2. Thesignal S1 amplified at a gain of 1 is output from the differentialamplifier D. Amp1, and the signal S2 amplified at a gain of 8 is outputfrom the differential amplifier D. Amp2. The signals S1 and S2 includean output noise N as described above.

In the present embodiment, provision of the column amplifier unit 102for each column enables the pixels in one row to be processed inparallel. That is, the column amplifier 102 can be driven at a lowerspeed than the speed of the output amplifiers 1042 and has the advantageof being unlikely to become a noise source.

The present embodiment enables an increase in the dynamic range of thesolid-state imaging device 1 and an improvement in the S/N ratio of thesolid-state imaging apparatus. A favorable image can be obtained byperforming a multiplication by a γ value corresponding to a gain of thecolumn amplifier unit 102 in the DSP 23. Since the plurality of columnamplifier units 102-1 and 102-2 with different gains is provided foreach vertical signal line VL, the present embodiment has the advantageof the ability to perform parallel processing. That is, the presentembodiment is suited for a high speed operation.

An embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 in which onecolumn amplifier unit 102 is provided for each pixel 101 in FIG. 5 inthe solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram ofthe one column amplifier unit 102 according to the present embodiment.Each pixel 101 includes the photodiode PD which is a photoelectricconversion element and a transferring unit TX which transfers electriccharges accumulated in the photodiode PD to a gate terminal of a MOStransistor constituting the pixel outputting unit SF. The gate terminalwhich is an input portion of the pixel outputting unit SF is connectedto a power supply VDD via the resetting unit RES. A source terminal ofthe pixel outputting unit SF is connected to one terminal of the inputcapacitor C0 of the column amplifier unit 102 and to the constantcurrent source Iconst via the pixel selecting unit SEL.

The column amplifier unit 102 includes the operational amplifier Amp. Aninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier Amp is connectedto the other terminal of the input capacitor C0. The feedback capacitorsC1, C2, and C3 are provided so as to connect the inverting inputterminal and an output terminal of the operational amplifier Amp viaswitches. A switch for short-circuiting the inverting input terminal andoutput terminal of the operational amplifier Amp is further provided.The power supply potential Vref is applied to a non-inverting inputterminal of the operational amplifier Amp. A signal output from thepixel 101 to the vertical signal line VL is amplified at a gain which isdetermined by the ratio of the capacitance values of the feedbackcapacitors C1, C2, and C3 connected to a feedback path of theoperational amplifier Amp to the capacitance value of the inputcapacitor C0. The capacitance values of the feedback capacitors C1, C2,and C3 are assumed to be 1 times, ⅛ times, and 1/16 times, respectively,the capacitance value of the input capacitor C0. That is, in the presentembodiment, the column amplifier unit 102 with a variable gain isprovided. As will be described later, noise originating in the pixel 101is reduced by the input capacitor C0. The input capacitor C0, theoperational amplifier Amp, and the switch to which a signal φC is inputwill be collectively referred to as a first CDS circuit.

A signal amplified by the column amplifier unit 102 is selectivelytransmitted to and held in the holding capacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, andCTN2. The holding capacitors CTS1 and CTS2 hold signals based onelectric charges obtained by a photoelectric conversion in thephotodiode PD, and the holding capacitors CTN1 and CTN2 hold signalsbased on resetting of the pixel outputting unit SF. The holdingcapacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, and CTN2 are connected to differenthorizontal lines HL1 to HL4, respectively. The signals held in theholding capacitors CTS1 and CTN1 are connected to different inputterminals of the differential amplifier D. Amp1 via switches,respectively. The signals held in the holding capacitors CTS2 and CTN2are connected to different input terminals of the differential amplifierD. Amp2 via switches, respectively. When signals φH1, φH2, . . . areinput from the horizontal scanning circuit 1041, the signals held in theholding capacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, and CTN2 are input to thecorresponding differential amplifiers D. Amp1 and D. Amp2 via thehorizontal signal lines HL1 to HL4. A difference between the signalsheld in the holding capacitors CTS1 and CTN1 is output from thedifferential amplifier D. Amp1. A difference between the signals held bythe holding capacitors CTS2 and CTN2 is output from the differentialamplifier D. Amp2. The holding capacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, and CTN2 andthe differential amplifiers D. Amp1 and D. Amp2 will be collectivelyreferred to as a second CDS circuit. The second CDS circuit reduces anoffset originating in the column amplifier unit 102.

Operation according to the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 9, which is a schematic timing chart of the embodimentin FIG. 8. Assume here that the feedback capacitors C1 and C2 are usedand that the capacitance values of the feedback capacitors C1 and C2 are1 times and ⅛ times, respectively, the capacitance value of the inputcapacitor C0. That is, a case will be described where one signal isamplified at a gain of 1 and at a gain of 8. In FIG. 8, signals whichare input to switches indicated by TX, RES, and SEL are signals φTX,φRES, and φSEL respectively, and the switches are in conduction when thesignals are at high level. Signals which are supplied to the switchespresent between the feedback capacitors C1, C2, and C3 and the invertinginput terminal of the operational amplifier Amp are signals φC1, φC2,and φC3 respectively, and the switches are in conduction when thesignals are at high level. Signals which are supplied to switchespresent between the holding capacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, and CTN2 and anoutput terminal of the column amplifier unit 102 are signals φCTS1,φCTN1, φCTS2, and φCTN2 respectively, and the switches are in conductionwhen the signals are at high level.

First, at time t0, all signals except for the signals φTX and φHn shiftto high level. When the signal φSEL changes to high level, the pixelselecting unit SEL is brought into conduction. The source terminal ofthe pixel outputting unit SF and the constant current source Iconst areelectrically connected to form a source follower circuit. The formationcauses a level corresponding to the potential of the gate terminal ofthe pixel outputting unit SF to appear as a signal on the verticalsignal line VL. Since the signal φRES is at high level at this time, theresetting unit RES is brought into conduction, and a level correspondingto a state in which the gate terminal of the pixel outputting unit SF isreset appears on the vertical signal line VL. In addition, the signalsφC, φC1, φC2, and φC3 change to high level, which causes the invertinginput terminal and output terminal of the operational amplifier Amp tobe short-circuited and the feedback capacitors C1, C2, and C3 to bereset. Because of a virtual ground phenomenon in the operationalamplifier Amp, the potentials of the terminals of the feedbackcapacitors C1 and C2 can be regarded as the same potential as the powersupply potential Vref. Since the signals φCTN1, φCTS1, φCTN2, and φCTS2are at high level, the corresponding switches are brought intoconduction, and the holding capacitors CTN1, CTS1, CTN2, and CTS2 arereset by an output from the operational amplifier Amp.

At time t1, the signal φRES shifts to low level. The resetting unit RESis brought out of conduction, and the gate terminal of the pixeloutputting unit SF is released from the reset state. A noise componentcaused by the release from the reset state contributes to a pixel noisen.

At time t2, the signals φC1, φC2, φC3, φCTN1, φCTS1, φCTN2, and φCTS2change to low level, and the switches corresponding to the signals arebrought out of conduction.

After that, a shift of the signal φC to low level at time t3 releasesthe operational amplifier from the short-circuited state between theinput and output terminals. A level corresponding to the resetting ofthe gate terminal of the pixel outputting unit SF is clamped by thepower supply potential Vref at the input capacitor C0.

The signals φC1 and φCTN1 change to high level at time t4, and thesignal φCTN1 changes to low level at time t5. The shifts cause an outputfrom the column amplifier unit 102 at the time to be held in the holdingcapacitor CTN1. Since the signal φC1 is at high level, only the feedbackcapacitor C1 is electrically connected to the period path of theoperational amplifier Amp. That is, the gain of the column amplifierunit 102 is C0/C1=C0/C0=1. A signal held in the holding capacitor CTN1includes an offset component originating in the column amplifier unit102.

The signal φC1 shifts to low level at time t6, and the signal φC2 shiftsto high level at time t7. With the shifts, only the feedback capacitorC2 is electrically connected to the feedback path of the operationalamplifier Amp. That is, the gain of the column amplifier unit 102 isC0/C2=C0/(C0/8)=8.

The signal φCTN2 remains at high level in a pulse shape from time t7.When the signal φCTN2 changes to low level, a signal including an offsetcomponent originating in the column amplifier unit 102 is held in theholding capacitor CTN2.

When the signal φTX shifts to high level at time t8, electric chargesaccumulated in the photodiode PD are transferred to the gate terminal ofthe pixel outputting unit SF. Since the potential at the gate terminalof the pixel outputting unit SF changes, a level appearing on thevertical signal line VL also changes. At the time, the input capacitorC0 is in a floating state, and only a potential difference from thelevel on the vertical signal line VL clamped at time t1 is input to theinverting input terminal of the operational amplifier Amp. That is, ofnoise components generated upstream of the clamp capacitor, a noisecomponent having a correlation between the level on the vertical signalline VL at time t3 and the level at time t8 or later can be reduced by aclamp operation. Accordingly, a signal based on a photoelectricconversion is input to the operational amplifier Amp. Since fluctuationsin current flowing through the constant current source Iconst, noisereferred to as 1/f noise generated in the pixel outputting unit SF, andthe like are different between time t1 and time t8 (have no correlationwith each other), the fluctuations, noise, and the like cannot bereduced by a clamp operation. In the present embodiment, the noisecomponent without correlation corresponds to the pixel noise n.

Only the feedback capacitor C2 having a capacitance value ⅛ times thecapacitance value of the input capacitor C0 is present in the feedbackpath of the operational amplifier Amp at time t8, and a signal based ona photoelectric conversion is amplified by a gain of 8. The signal φCTS2remains at high level in a pulse shape from time t8, and a shift of thesignal φCTS2 to low level causes a signal amplified at a gain of 8 bythe column amplifier unit 102 to be held in the holding capacitor CTS2.The signal held by the holding capacitor CTS2 includes an offsetoriginating in the column amplifier unit 102, as is the case with theholding capacitor CTN2.

The signal φC2 shifts to low level at time t9, and the signal φC1 shiftsto high level at time t10. With the shifts, only the feedback capacitorC1 is electrically connected to the feedback path of the operationalamplifier Amp. Since the capacitance value of the feedback capacitor C1is equal to the capacitance value of the input capacitor C0, a signalinput to the column amplifier unit 102 is amplified at a gain of 1.

The signal φCTS1 changes to high level at time t10. When the signalφCTS1 shifts to low level, a signal obtained by amplifying a levelappearing on the vertical signal line VL at a gain of 1 is held in theholding capacitor CTS1. The signal held in the holding capacitor CTS1includes an offset originating in the column amplifier unit 102 as isthe case with the holding capacitor CTN1.

After that, the signal φSEL changes to low level, which brings the pixelselecting unit SEL out of conduction and releases the pixel 101 from aselected state.

The signals φHn change to high level successively from time t11, andsignals are successively output from the pixels 101 in one row via thedifferential amplifiers D. Amp1 and D. Amp2. Since the signals held inthe holding capacitors CTS1, CTN1, CTS2, and CTN2 include an offsetoriginating in the column amplifier unit 102, an offset component can bereduced by obtaining a difference by the differential amplifiers D. Amp1and D. Amp2. The signal S1 amplified at a gain of 1 is output from thedifferential amplifier D. Amp1, and the signal S2 amplified at a gain of8 is output from the differential amplifier D. Amp2. The signals S1 andS2 include an output noise N as described above.

The column amplifier unit 102 successively amplifies a first signal G1and a second signal G8 with the same column amplifier unit and outputsthe signals.

In the present embodiment, the provision of the column amplifier unit102 for each column enables the pixels 101 in one row to be processed inparallel. That is, the column amplifier unit 102 can be driven at alower speed than the speed of the output amplifiers 1042 and has theadvantage of being unlikely to become a noise source.

Operation of the solid-state imaging apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is achart for describing the imaging timing for the solid-state imagingapparatus according to the first embodiment. A process of imaging anobject for forming a gain error correction signal and generating acorrection coefficient K will be described first. During a period T1,exposure is performed. During a period T2, a reset signal for each pixel101 is read, and the reset signal is clamped at an input portion of thecolumn amplifier unit 102. During a period T3, an exposure signal at thepixel 101 is read, and a CDS operation in the CDS circuits ends. Signalsobtained through the CDS operation are output to the outside of thesolid-state imaging device 1. During a period T4, the AD convertingunits 21 convert the signals from analog to digital form. By the signalprocessing described with reference to FIG. 3, the comparing unit 224compares the levels of the two signals during a period T5, generates acorrection coefficient K based on a gain error ΔV during a period T6,and stores the correction coefficient K in the correction data memoryunit 225 during a period T7. By a similar operation, a correctioncoefficient K for each combination of gains is held in a camera.

A process at the time of imaging will be described. During the periodsT1 to T4, the same series of operation is performed as in the generationof a correction coefficient K. After that, during a period T8, thecorrecting unit 226 corrects a signal DATA2 using a stored correctioncoefficient. During a period T9, switching between a signal DATA1 andthe signal DATA2 is performed by the bit switching flag φb to output a15-bit digital signal DATA3. As described above, pixel signals aresuccessively read from the pixel unit 10 of the solid-state imagingdevice 1, the correcting unit 226 corrects gain errors based oncorrection coefficients K, and bit switching is performed (the periodsT2 to T4, T8, and T9). With the operations, image data is obtained.During a period T10, the DSP 23 performs signal processing of thecorrected signal DATA3 and records the resulting signal on the recordingunit 3. With the imaging timing, wide-dynamic signals with a differencein level in an image hard to visually recognize are recorded.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In thefirst embodiment, an object for correction signal formation is imaged,and a gain error is detected. Each column amplifier unit 102 or memoryunit 103 has an offset noise with a fixed pattern and a gain error dueto semiconductor process variation, which leads to a degradation inimage performance. The second embodiment of the present invention hasobjects to eliminate the above-described noise and to omit imaging of anobject for correction signal formation by inputting a reference signalto each vertical signal line VL. Differences between the presentembodiment and the first embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 11 illustrates the schematic configuration of a solid-state imagingdevice 1 including a reference signal input circuit (reference signalinput unit) 107 according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention. A column amplifier unit 102 includes column amplifier units102-1 and 102-2. Each vertical signal line VL is connected to areference signal line 1072 of the reference signal input circuit 107 viaa switch which is controlled by a pulse φS2. The reference signal inputcircuit 107 brings the switches controlled by the pulse φS2 intoconduction and controls switches which are controlled by a pulse φS1,prior to imaging (or when the power for photographing is turned on).With this configuration, a reference signal with an amplitudecorresponding to an imaging sensitivity is input to detect a gain errorand an offset noise in a downstream signal processing system. Thereference signal input circuit 107 includes a signal source 1071 havingtwo power supply voltages Vs1 and Vs2, which selectively outputs thereference signal voltages Vs1 and Vs2 to each vertical signal line VL.The power supply voltage Vs2 is variably controlled. The signal source1071 controls conduction/nonconduction of the switches with the pulseφS1, which generates a signal of Vs1-Vs2 at each vertical signal lineVL. The signal of Vs1-Vs2 is set to have a signal level not more than asignal level VH(b) when the signal is amplified at a high gain by thecolumn amplifier unit 102.

The reference signal voltage Vs1 is a potential corresponding to thereset level for a pixel 101, and the reference signal voltage Vs2 is apotential corresponding to an exposure signal from each pixel 101. Byperforming the CDS processing described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8and gain processing in each column amplifier unit 102, a gain errorbetween different gains can be detected. If the power supply Vs2 isprepared using a digital to analog (DA) converting unit, the signallevel of the signal of Vs1-Vs2 can be easily changed to a signal levelcorresponding to each gain of each column amplifier unit 102. If eachcolumn amplifier unit 102 has a large gain, the reference signal voltageVs2 needs to be made very low such that the reference signal level isnot saturated. The DA converting unit can easily generate such a lowpotential. As described above, since a gain error can be detected withthe reference signal input circuit 107 with a very simple configuration,gain error detection prior to imaging is very effective.

The imaging timing for a solid-state imaging apparatus according to thepresent embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 14. Aprocess of generating a correction coefficient K will be describedfirst. During a period T1, the power to the solid-state imagingapparatus is turned on. During a period T2, the reference signal inputcircuit 107 outputs the reference signal voltage Vs1 corresponding to areset signal for each pixel 101 to the vertical signal line VL. During aperiod T3, the reference signal input circuit 107 outputs the referencesignal voltage Vs2 corresponding to an exposure signal at the pixel 101to the vertical signal line VL. The column amplifier unit 102 amplifiesa reference signal of Vs1-Vs2 at a first gain and at a second gain andoutputs a first signal G1 and a second signal G8. During a period T4, ADconverting units 21 convert the first and second signals G1 and G8 fromanalog to digital form. By the signal processing in FIG. 3, a comparingunit 224 compares the levels of the two signals during a period T5,generates a correction coefficient K based on a gain error ΔV during aperiod T6, and stores the correction coefficient K for each column andfor each gain error in a correction data memory unit 225 during a periodT7. As described above, when the power is turned on, each columnamplifier unit 102 outputs the first and second signals G1 and G8obtained by amplifying the reference signal of Vs1-Vs2, the comparingunit 224 detects the gain error ΔV between a third signal G8# and thefirst signal G1 and generates the correction coefficient K.

A process at the time of imaging will be described. When an imagingsystem is produced on a production site such as a factory or whencorrection coefficients at initialization of an imaging system areacquired, a series of operations similar to the series of operationswith the imaging timing described with reference to FIG. 10 isperformed. On the other hand, when correction coefficients are updatedeach time imaging is performed, the correction coefficients arecalculated before the start of exposure during the period T1 immediatelyafter the power to an imaging system is turned on and are held in thememory. During the period T2 or later, operation is performed with thesame timing as the timing in FIG. 10.

As described above, the plurality of pixels 101 is arranged in a matrixto generate signals by photoelectric conversions. The reference signalinput circuit 107 generates a reference signal of Vs1-Vs2. The columnamplifier unit 102 is provided for each column of the plurality ofpixels 101 to output a first signal G1 that is obtained by amplifyingsignals from the plurality of pixels 101 and the reference signalVs1-Vs2 at a first gain and a second signal G8 that is obtained byamplifying the signal at a second gain larger than the first gain. TheAD converting units 21 convert the first and second signals G1 and G8from analog to digital form. The comparing unit 224 detects a gain errorΔV between a third signal G8# that is obtained by level-shifting thesecond signal G8 to the same gain level as the gain level of the signalG1 and the first signal G1 when the column amplifier unit 102 outputsthe first and second signals G1 and G8 obtained by amplifying thereference signal Vs1-Vs2. The correcting unit 226 corrects the firstsignal G1 and one of the second signal G8 and the third signal G8# basedon the gain error ΔV when the column amplifier unit 102 outputs thefirst and second signals G1 and G8 obtained by amplifying the signal ateach of the plurality of pixels 101.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 12is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a pixel 101including a reference signal input circuit according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment (FIG. 11),a gain error in the column amplifier unit 102 or the like is detectedusing a reference signal from the reference signal input circuit 107. Inthe present embodiment, each pixel 101 includes a reference signal inputcircuit which outputs a reference signal. Differences between thepresent embodiment and the second embodiment will be described below. Aswitch connects a reset switch RES to one of a node at a power supplypotential VDD and a node at a reference potential Vs2 according to asignal φS1. At the time of reset, the reset switch RES is connected tothe node at the power supply VDD, and a gate terminal of a pixeloutputting section SF is reset with the power supply potential VDD. Incontrast, at the time of reference signal reading, an electric chargeobtained by exposure in a photodiode PD is not supplied. The resetswitch RES is connected to the node at the reference potential Vs2, andthe reference potential Vs2 is supplied to the gate terminal of thepixel outputting section SF instead. The reference potential is outputto a vertical signal line VL. A power supply for the reference potentialVs2 may be a DA converting unit. As described above, an error in eachcolumn amplifier unit 102, AD converting units 21, and the like isdetected by inputting a reference signal from a pixel unit 10.Correction of the error enables acquisition of a good image.

As described above, each pixel 101 includes the photodiode(photoelectric conversion element) PD, a transfer switch TX, and thefield-effect transistor SF. The photodiode PD generates a signal by aphotoelectric conversion. The transfer switch TX is connected to thephotoelectric conversion element PD. The field-effect transistor SF hasa gate connected to the photodiode PD via the transfer switch TX, adrain connected to the node at the power supply potential VDD, and asource which outputs a signal to the column amplifier unit 102 via apixel selecting unit SEL. The reference signal input circuit includesthe switch for the power supply for the reference potential Vs2 and thecontrol signal φS1 and selectively outputs reference signals Vs2 and VDDto the gate of the field-effect transistor SF. Supply of the referencesignal VDD to the gate of the field-effect transistor SF corresponds tosupply of the reference signal voltage Vs1 in the second embodiment.Supply of the reference signal Vs2 to the gate of the field-effecttransistor SF corresponds to supply of the reference signal voltage Vs2in the second embodiment. Operation according to the present embodimentis the same as the operation according to the second embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device 1 according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention. The present embodiment is obtained by adding an ADconverting unit 108 downstream of a column amplifier unit 102 and areference signal input circuit 107 as in the embodiment in FIG. 11 tothe first embodiment in FIG. 5. Differences between the presentembodiment and the second embodiment will be described below. In each ADconverting unit 108, amplifier units of the column amplifier unit 102convert output signals from analog to digital form. The AD convertingunit 108 converts a first signal G1 and a second signal G8 withdifferent AD converting units from analog to digital form. The provisionof the AD converting unit 108 for each of two gain signals from thecolumn amplifier unit 102 in the solid-state imaging device 1 enableshigher processing. The bit processing unit 22 according to theembodiment in FIG. 3 is used as a bit processing unit 22 (FIG. 2)according to the fourth embodiment. The gains of each column amplifierunit 102 are set in photographic sensitivity setting, the level of areference signal is set according to the gains, and the reference signalis input. Accordingly, at the time of gain error detection, thecomparison level determining unit 222 (FIG. 3) is unnecessary. A timinggenerator (TG) 24 controls a comparing unit 224. In actual imaging, thetiming generator 24 operates as a comparison level determining unit 222for a signal DATA2 (G8). Even if the AD converting unit 108 with asomewhat large gain error is provided within the solid-state imagingdevice 1, inputting of a reference signal enables accurate detection andcorrection of a signal error in the column amplifier unit 102 and ADconverting unit 108.

FIG. 14 is a chart for describing the imaging timing for a solid-stateimaging apparatus according to the present embodiment. Differencesbetween methods for generating a correction coefficient K according tothe present embodiment and the second embodiment will be described.During a period T4, each AD converting unit 108 converts a first signalG1 and a second signal G8 from analog to digital form. By the signalprocessing in FIG. 3, the comparing unit 224 compares the levels of thetwo signals during a period T5, generates a correction efficient K basedon a gain error ΔV during a period T6, and stores the correctioncoefficient K for each column and for each gain error in a correctiondata memory unit 225 during a period T7. The timing for imaging is thesame as the timing in the second embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device 1 according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. A feature of the present embodiment lies in that oneAD converting unit 108 is provided for each pixel column, unlike thefourth embodiment (FIG. 13). Differences between the present embodimentand the fourth embodiment will be described below. A column amplifierunit 102 includes a column amplifier unit 102-1 which outputs a firstsignal G1 with a low gain and a column amplifier unit 102-2 whichoutputs a second signal G8 with a high gain and amplifies and outputsthe first and second signals G1 and G8 with the different columnamplifier units 102-1 and 102-2. A signal selecting unit 109 selects oneof the first signal G1 with the low gain and the second signal G8 withthe high gain by switch control. The AD converting unit 108 converts theone of the first and second signals G1 and G8 selected by the signalselecting unit 109 from analog to digital form. The signal selectingunit 109 selects the second signal G8 when the second signal G8 is notmore than a first signal level VH(b) and selects the first signal G1when the second signal G8 is more than the first signal level VH(b). TheAD converting unit 108 successively converts one of a first signal G1and a second signal G8 from analog to digital form with a single ADconverting unit. The signal selecting unit 109 transfers a selectionsignal φb as in FIG. 3 to a horizontal signal line HLB via the ADconverting unit 108 in parallel with a digital signal described above.The selection signal φb is a signal indicating which one of a firstsignal G1 and a second signal G8 is selected. As in the firstembodiment, the selection signal φb is at low level when a first signalG1 is selected and is at high level when a second signal G8 is selected.A bit switching unit 227 is provided on the horizontal signal line HLB.One of a first signal G1 and a second signal G8 is transferred from theAD converting unit 108 and the signal selecting unit 109 to thehorizontal signal line HLB together with the selection signal φbaccording to a pixel signal level for each column and is output to thebit switching unit 227. The bit switching unit 227 has the sameconfiguration as the configuration of the bit switching unit 227 in FIG.4 and operates in the same manner. That is, the bit switching unit 227selects a second signal G8 and outputs a high-gain signal when theselection signal φb is at high level, and outputs a first signal G1 as alow-gain signal when the selection signal φb is at low level. Thesolid-state imaging device 1 outputs the selection signal φb togetherwith one of a low-gain signal and a high-gain signal. The selectionsignal φb may be transferred in parallel with one of a first signal G1and a second signal G8 or may be serially transferred. A bit processingunit 22-1 (to be described later) (FIG. 16) detects a gain error ΔV indata output from the bit switching unit 227 and corrects the data.

Note that each column amplifier unit 102 may successively amplify andoutput a first signal G1 and a second signal G8 with a single columnamplifier, as illustrated in FIG. 8. In the case, the column amplifierunit 102 outputs a second signal G8 amplified at a high gain first and afirst signal G1 amplified at a low gain second. The signal selectingunit 109 selects a signal to be AD-converted by determining the signallevel of the second signal G8. Since signal level determination isperformed using a second signal amplified at a high gain, a circuit fordetermining a signal level is not necessarily required to have highaccuracy.

According to the present embodiment, the number of AD converting unitsin each AD converting unit 108 is reduced by half. The reduction leadsto a reduction in the size of the solid-state imaging device 1 and areduction in power consumption. Since the number of pieces of data fromthe AD converting unit 108 can be reduced by half, the number ofterminals in a package of the solid-state imaging device 1 can also bereduced. The present embodiment is thus cost-effective.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of the bitprocessing unit 22-1 according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. The bit processing unit 22-1 is provided instead of the ADconverting units 21 and the bit processing unit 22 in FIG. 2 andreceives signals output from the solid-state imaging device 1.Differences between the bit processing unit 22-1 and the bit processingunit 22 in FIG. 3 will be described below.

A process of generating a correction coefficient K will be describedfirst. When the power to a solid-state imaging apparatus is turned on, areference signal input circuit 107 outputs a reference signal to avertical signal line VL. Each signal selecting unit 109 successivelyselects a first signal G1 and a second signal G8, regardless of thesignal level of the second signal G8. The selection signal φb is at lowlevel when the first signal G1 is selected and is at high level when thesecond signal G8 is selected. The bit switching unit 227 successivelyoutputs a low-gain signal and a high-gain signal. A data synchronizingunit 228 successively receives the low-gain and high-gain signals andoutputs signals DATA1 and DATA2 in parallel. The signal DATA1 is alow-gain signal output by the bit switching unit 227 while the signalDATA2 is a high-gain signal output by the bit switching unit 227. Acomparing unit 224 compares the signals DATA1 and DATA2, detects a gainerror ΔV, and stores the reciprocal of the gain error ΔV as a gain errorcorrection coefficient K in a correction data memory unit 225. That is,the comparing unit 224 detects a gain error ΔV between a first signal G1and a second signal G8 when the first and second signals G1 and G8 arelevel-shifted to the same gain level. Generation of a correctioncoefficient K requires at least two signals, i.e., a first signal and asecond signal. The first and second signals enable calculation of acorrection coefficient for each of all column amplifier units. A moreaccurate correction coefficient can be obtained by calculating andaveraging a plurality of correction coefficients.

A process at the time of imaging will be described. If correctioncoefficients are generated at the time of camera initialization and arestored in the memory, an exposure signal is output from a pixel 101 tothe vertical signal line VL. A first signal G1 and a second signal G8amplified by each column amplifier unit 102 are AD-converted by the ADconverting unit 108 and are successively output from the solid-stateimaging device 1. The digital signals output from the solid-stateimaging device 1 are successively input to the bit processing unit 22-1.When the selection signal φb input from the solid-state imaging device 1is at high level, a correcting unit 226 corrects the input high-gainsignal by multiplying the low-order 12 bits of the high-gain signal by acorrection coefficient K in the correction data memory unit 225 andoutputs a signal DATA3, as in FIG. 3. When the selection signal φb is atlow level, the correcting unit 226 outputs the input low-gain signal asthe signal DATA3 without change.

Note that the correcting unit 226 may correct one of a low-gain signal,a first signal G1, and a second signal G8 instead of correcting ahigh-gain signal. The bit processing unit 22-1 in FIG. 16 may beprovided within the solid-state imaging device 1 in FIG. 15. In thecase, a circuit design is prepared with the bit switching unit 227replaced with the bit processing unit 22-1.

According to the present embodiment, the number of column amplifierunits 102 can be made smaller than a case where the column amplifierunit 102 for amplifying a first signal G1 and the column amplifier unit102 for amplifying a second signal G8 are separately provided, whichenables a cost reduction. Since one of a first signal G1 and a secondsignal G8 is selected and is converted from analog to digital form, theoperating speed can be improved, compared to a case where both of afirst signal G1 and a second signal G8 are converted from analog todigital form.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of asolid-state imaging device 1 according to a sixth embodiment of thepresent invention. The present embodiment is an embodiment obtained byadding the bit processing unit 22 in FIG. 3 within the solid-stateimaging device 1 to the fourth embodiment in FIG. 13. A bit processingunit 22 is provided on a horizontal signal line HLB. Since the bitprocessing unit 22 is provided within a solid-state imaging device 1,the solid-state imaging device 1 outputs only a 15-bit signal with awide dynamic range after AD conversion. An external processing circuitunit includes only a DSP 23 (FIG. 2). Accordingly, a reduction in thesize and cost of a solid-state imaging apparatus can be achieved. Theimaging timing for a solid-state imaging apparatus according to thepresent embodiment is substantially the same as the imaging timingaccording to the fourth embodiment in FIG. 14, and a description of theimaging timing will be omitted.

According to the first to sixth embodiments, a gain error in each columnamplifier unit 102 when signals amplified at different gains areobtained and/or a conversion error in the AD converting units 21 and 108can be reduced.

Note that the above-described embodiments merely illustrate specificexamples for carrying out the present invention and that the technicalscope of the present invention should not be restrictively interpreteddue to the embodiments. In other words, the present invention can beimplemented in various forms without departing from the technical ideaor the main features of the present invention.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2010-221200, filed Sep. 30, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising:a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix configured to generate asignal by a photoelectric conversion; a plurality of column amplifierunits arranged each correspondingly to one of columns of the pluralityof pixels, configured to output first signals generated by amplifying ata first gain the signals from the plurality of pixels, and secondsignals generated by amplifying at a second gain the signals from theplurality of pixels, the second gain being greater than the first gain;a selecting unit configured to output a signal selected from the firstand second signals each corresponding to an identical one of theplurality of pixels; an analog to digital converting unit configured toconvert the signal output from the selecting unit to a digital signal; acomparing unit inputting a digital signal from the analog to digitalconverting unit configured to detect a gain error between a ratio of thefirst gain and the second gain, and a predetermined ratio of the firstgain and the second gain; and a correcting unit configured to correctthe digital signal based on the gain error.
 2. The solid-state imagingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analog to digital convertingunit outputs a selection signal indicating the signal that is convertedby the analog to digital converting unit.
 3. The solid-state imagingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal and the secondsignal are amplified by respectively different column amplifier unitsand outputted.
 4. The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim1, wherein the first signal and the second signal are successivelyamplified by an identical column amplifier unit and outputted.
 5. Thesolid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising;a plurality of analog to digital converting units including the analogto digital converting unit, arranged each correspondingly to each ofcolumns of the plurality of column amplifier, and each configured toconvert the first or second signal each corresponding to an identicalone of the plurality of pixels from an analog signal to a digitalsignal; and an outputting unit configured to output, to the comparingunit, the digital signal converted from the first or second signal, fromeach of the plurality of analog to digital converting units, by scanningthe plurality of analog to digital converting units.
 6. The solid-stateimaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparing unitinputs a digital signal from the analog to digital converting unitconfigured to detect the gain error between the first and second signalswhen the first and second signals are shifted to the same gain level. 7.The solid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theselecting unit outputs the second signal and the analog to digitalconverting unit converts the second signal output from the selectingunit to the digital signal when the second signal is in a smaller levelthan a first signal level, and the selecting unit outputs the firstsignal and the analog to digital converting unit converts the firstsignal output from the selecting unit to the digital signal when thesecond signal is in a larger level than the first signal level.
 8. Thesolid-state imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thecomparing unit inputs a digital signal from the analog to digitalconverting unit configured to detect the gain error between the firstand second signals when the first and second signals are shifted to thesame gain level.
 9. A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising: aplurality of pixels arranged in a matrix configured to generate a signalby a photoelectric conversion; a plurality of column amplifier unitsarranged each correspondingly to one of columns of the plurality ofpixels, configured to output first signals generated by amplifying at afirst gain the signals from the plurality of pixels, and second signalsgenerated by amplifying at a second gain the signals from the pluralityof pixels, the second gain being greater than the first gain; an analogto digital converting unit configured to selectively convert one of thefirst and second signals each corresponding to an identical one of theplurality of pixels from an analog signal to a digital signal; acomparing unit inputting a digital signal from the analog to digitalconverting unit configured to detect a gain error between the first andsecond signals when the first and second signals are shifted to the samegain level; and a correcting unit configured to correct the first orsecond signal based on the gain error, wherein the analog to digitalconverting unit converts the second signal when the second signal is ina smaller level than a first signal level, while the analog to digitalconverting unit converts the first signal when the second signal is in alarger level than the first signal level.